1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of dental bleaching devices used to bleach a person's teeth. More particularly, the invention relates to dental trays and tray-like barriers loaded with a substantially solid dental bleaching composition that becomes adhesive when moistened (e.g., by a saliva on user's teeth).
2. The Relevant Technology
Virtually all people desire white or whiter teeth. To achieve this goal, people either have veneers placed over their teeth or have their teeth chemically bleached. In the past, patients who desired to have their teeth bleached had to submit to conventional in-office bleaching techniques. The process generally involves: (1) making an alginate impression of the patient's teeth; (2) making a stone cast or model of the impression; (3) vacuum forming a dental tray from the model, usually from a heated sheet of thin ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) material, and (4) trimming to exclude gingival coverage. This method results in a tray that is soft and flexible, that is customized to very accurately fit over the patient's teeth, and that is therefore very comfortable to wear. However, the process for making a customized tray is time consuming, often taking days or weeks before the customized tray is available to the patient, and the resulting tray can be expensive.
Because of the time and cost associated with customized trays, less time consuming and costly alternatives have been developed. Contrary to marketing campaigns, however, many alternatives have substantial disadvantages, primarily in terms of their effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) in actually bleaching teeth. They also have their own unique issues relating to ease of use, comfort and poor taste (bleaching compositions are, after all, placed directly into a person's mouth).
One alternative to customized dental trays are non-customized trays that approximate the shapes and sizes of a variety of users' dental arches. While non-customized dental trays can be used without the need for a professional customization procedure by a dentist, such trays tend to be more bulky and less comfortable than custom-fitted trays. Dental Trays that can be self-customized (e.g., so-called “boil and bite” trays) are somewhat more comfortable and better-fitting compared to non-custom trays but less comfortable than trays that are customized by a dentist.
Another alternative tooth bleaching method involves painting a bleaching composition directly onto the surfaces of a person's teeth to be bleached. An advantage of this procedure is that it eliminates the need to obtain a customized tray, or even a non-custom tray. The main disadvantage, however, is that the bleaching composition remains directly exposed to the person's saliva and disruptive forces and movements normally found within a person's mouth. The result is that a significant portion of the bleaching composition does not remain on the tooth where bleaching is desired. Instead, some or all of the composition can dissolve away into the person's saliva and/or be transferred to adjacent oral tissues. Because paint-on dental bleaching compositions, like all dental bleaching compositions, contain peroxide-based bleaching agents, irritation to soft oral tissues within the user's mouth and throat is a potential problem when using such compositions.
Yet another alternative tooth bleaching method involves placing a flexible bleaching strip over a user's tooth surfaces. Bleaching strips typically comprise a flexible plastic strip coated with a moist dental bleaching gel on the side of the strip facing the user's teeth. To install the bleaching strip, a portion of the bleaching strip is first placed over the front surfaces of the user's teeth, followed by folding the remainder of the strip around the occlusal edges of the teeth and back against a portion of the lingual surfaces. Like paint-on bleaching compositions, this procedure does not require the user to obtain a customized tray, or even a non-custom tray, into which a bleaching composition must be placed by the user prior to use. An advantage of bleaching strips over paint-on bleaching compositions is that bleaching strips include a barrier that, at least in theory, protects the dental bleaching gel from diffusing into the user's mouth.
In reality, however, because of the generally poor adhesion of bleaching strips to the user's teeth, coupled with their generally flimsy nature, it is often difficult for the user to maintain the bleaching strips in their proper position. Bleaching strips are prone to slip off the teeth through even minimal movement of the user's mouth, jaw or tongue. Indeed, it is recommended that the user not eat, drink, smoke or sleep while wearing the bleaching strip. In practice, it is difficult to talk while maintaining the bleaching strips properly oriented over the teeth to be bleached.
Even if a user successfully maintains the bleaching strip in its proper position during the entire bleaching event, the flowable bleaching gel can diffuse into the person's saliva, potentially causing a poor taste in the user's mouth and possibly discomfort to soft oral and throat tissues. The tendency of the bleaching gel to diffuse into the user's mouth can be accelerated through even minimal shifts of the bleaching strip over the user's teeth, with each shift potentially exposing a new portion of the bleaching gel that remains adhered to the newly exposed surface of the user's teeth. In some cases, the bleaching strip can become so dislodged or mangled that it must be removed by the user and replaced with a fresh bleaching strip to complete the recommended bleaching time. This multiplies the cost and hassle of the bleaching strip method.
In practical terms, the use of bleaching strips can greatly inhibit even the simplest of activities that involve movement of the user's mouth or tongue, such as talking, smiling, making other facial expressions, or even swallowing (which normally occurs subconsciously throughout the day). Indeed, the time when a person's mouth and tongue are prone to move the least is at night while the person is sleeping. Unfortunately, it is recommended that bleaching strips not be used while sleeping, presumably to prevent accidental choking on an inadvertently dislodged bleaching strip. This only confirms the tendency of such bleaching strips to easily dislodge from a user's teeth.
Ultimately, the main impediment to successful bleaching is the failure of users to complete the prescribed bleaching regimen. If the bleaching apparatus is difficult to use, requires numerous repetitions to achieve observable results, or is simply uncomfortable or a hassle to wear, the user may simply give up and abort the bleaching process altogether. Thus, even if significant dental bleaching is possible using a particular bleaching product, it is less likely to occur where the inadequacies of the bleaching apparatus or method causes users to become discouraged before desired results are attained.
In view of the foregoing, there is an ongoing need for improved bleaching apparatus and methods that are simple and easy to use, that more reliably remain in position over the user's teeth, and that result in less diffusion of bleaching composition into a user's oral cavity. Such improvements would be expected to improve or encourage compliance by the user.